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And now, presenting: Margaret Young!

Margaret will be with us for the next couple of weeks, and with perhaps the exception of Rosalynde, we are all a bit nervous about her guest-blogging. It is almost certain that she will quickly show us to be prosodic pedestrians.

Many of you have read her comments here and on other blogs and, as we, have been impressed with her intelligence and wit. She is a real writer rather than a blogging poseur: a trilogy: Standing on the Promises (individual books are One More River to Cross, Bound for Canaan, and The Last Mile of the Way–all co-authored with Darius Gray; several novels: House Without Walls, Salvador, Heresies of Nature; some short story collections: Elegies and Love Songs and Love Chains; as well as one documentary produced, Jane Manning James: Your Sister in the Gospel and another in progress, Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons.

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7 comments for “And now, presenting: Margaret Young!”

Julie M. Smith

August 21, 2006 at 2:11 pm

Welcome, Margaret! I usually don’t have anything nice to say about LDS fiction–historical or otherwise–but Standing on the Promises: WOW. I loved all three books and want to thank you for your work on the series. I hope you’ll blog a little about your experiences writing them.

Margaret

August 21, 2006 at 2:19 pm

Thank you so much, Julie. My fear in writing about those books and my experiences working with the issues they discuss is that I have SO MUCH TO SAY. But maybe I’ll say something in my next guest blog. Btw, I have read very little LDS fiction, other than what Gene England assigned me when I took Mormon Lit from him. And to be perfectly honest, I would LOVE to re-write the trilogy, because I know so much more now than I did when Darius and I finished the books. My new adopted brother (who took my kids and me out to the ocean and to dinner during our 6-hour layover in LA on Aug. 11) is the great great grandson of Jane Manning James, and has an incredible collection of photos etc. He knows facts I did not know. Sadly, we did not meet him until the trilogy was completed. He is a great fan of the books nonetheless. (He is not LDS. Jane has 7 generations of descendants, none of whom is LDS.) What I’d really like to do is re-write the books and then do an audio recording of them. Deseret Book has not seen fit to let us record the trilogy, but I think the books will not get the audience they should have until they’re available on tape or CD. Thanks for your kind words!

R.W. Rasband

August 21, 2006 at 3:02 pm

Margaret, please come back to AML-List. We miss you!

Kevin Barney

August 21, 2006 at 3:09 pm

Wow, T&S is on a roll. Kudos for snagging Margaret for a guest blogging stint.

Margaret, I second Julie’s idea that you blog about your experience with the trilogy.

Thank you for these sweet comments. Robert, I wish I had time for the AML-list. I just don’t. And I’ll commit to writing about my experience doing the trilogy for my next guest blog. Of course, when I was first invited to guest blog, my mind went instantly to race issues, but I didn’t feel like starting a conversation on the subject which consumes so much of my thoughts and time. The issues surrounding race feel almost sacred to me, because I feel very “called” to them. Sadly, my last attempt to confront racist folklore in Church bookstores did not go well. (I did not burn anything, but I did lose faith in some friends.) Anyway, there are some interesting insights I got from writing the trilogy with Darius. (We had some good fights which HAD to lead to profound insights or else to the dissolution of our team–and we knew we were to be a team.) I’m happy to share these. I’m just wondering if I can share them in such a little space. Well, I’ll give it a try. Look for it in a few days.

julia

August 24, 2006 at 11:29 pm

Hi Margaret,
i was an American Studies major at BUY and my favorite class was \”African American Experience.\” It was an honors class, but i thought it should be part of AMST required curriculum because the subject matters really are such compelling components integral to the understanding of the heart of Americans, so telling about modern us, as individuals, as culture and as a country. i was wondering how much of Critical Race Theory you are familiar with and what you think of it. The unveiling that if you are white and if you are not efforting to correct racism, you are racist yourself because by turning your head to race issues, you are gripping a position of power. Also, how you believe race issues will or should play out in the church among members in the future. The class was like taking a matrix pill, which has worn off now, but i remember wanting to write letters to the first Presidency asking when members will be told to stop de-culturizing the world and shoving them into Anglican shoes. Anyway, good to hear from your perspective. thanks.

Yes, I am familiar with the Critical Race theory, which I find flawed. I do accept the unfortunate reality that White Privilege exists, but the theory, taken to its extreme, is counterproductive and (as your post implicitly acknowledges) produces more anger than action. I also find the Shelby Steele theory of “white guilt” flawed. It produces apathy rather than empathy and allows for some awful self-justification. I believe Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela have nailed the best way to deal with race issues, and that we as a Church will someday follow that model. The idea of Truth and Reconciliation invites full disclosure and full forgiveness. It TRIES to be a Christlike solution to long-standing problems.

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